Like Majdalani’s Moving the Palace, in delightful translation by Edward Gauvin, L’empereur à pied ties the present generations to the past. This novel’s origins are in the middle of the nineteenth century when Khanjar Jbeili — nicknamed “the emperor on foot,” appears with his sons in the mountains of Lebanon. According to the publisher, the prosperous “emperor” imposes a rule on his descendants, that only one per generation is allowed to marry and have children.

The winner will be announced on the eve of the FNAC Books Forum, which will take place from September 15 to 17. Leïla Slimani, this year’s Goncourt winner, is the guest of honor.